Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
New York Times Reviewer Fired For (Badly) Using AI
Alex Preston made at least two mistakes. The first was relying on AI to generate text for a book review. Of the things AI is good at writing, reviews of new books have to be near the bottom: not only is it likely that the book is not a part of the AI’s model, but there is also by nature not a deep body of writing available on it. So, when the AI goes out to see what’s out there, it is drawing from a small pool, which makes substantially transparent plagiarism much more likely. Secondly, Preston published the review in the most-read book review publication in the English-speaking world, where readers are the most likely to both read the review and to have read other reviews of the same book.
I do have a question on The New York Times side here. Does the NYT do any checking for AI-text generation from its staff, regular contributors, and guest writers? My thought would be that a required review for all published material (likely an AI-one at that) would catch something as egregious as this cribbing from The Guardian‘s review was.
Trump Library Is Just About As Terrible As You Would Hope
This immediately shoots to the top of the ugliest, stupidest, and likely least-useful Presidential libraries in American history. And you know what? I’m glad. In 50 years, the specific feeling of living in Trump’s America will get hazy. But this monument will be a beacon of garishness, self-aggrandizement, and stupidity, gleaming luridly over Miami for decades to come. An undimmed testament to Trump’s singular, abiding moral and aesthetic bankruptcy.
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Andy Weir Gets Taste of Media Stardom
Project Hail Mary has moved to the second stage of genuine cultural success: breaking out distasteful snippets of podcast interviews from those involved. I’ve interviewed Andy Weir and read all of his books. I don’t believe for a second that he is a member of the MAGA-adjacent, anti-woke cultural industrial complex. But if you put yourself in a space where those ideas have currency, engage in one of their favorite topics (in this case illiterate reads of what Star Trek has been all about), then you might find yourself having to apologize for saying you prefer the explod-y bits of Star Trek to the political commentary bits. Weir’s novels are consistently inclusive, science-forward, and poignantly international, all characteristics more like Star Trek than unlike it. I suspect his media vetting will be getting an upgrade after this.
We Are Still Living in the Shadow of Much Ado About Nothing.
On this episode of Zero to Well-Read, we get to revel in Shakespeare’s master class in dueling/courting wits. Beatrice and Benedick were immediate cultural icons, and their long influence continues to be the blu print for zinger-laden romantic comedies. A real delight.
